Magical Maladies and Injuries
by LovelyGucci
Summary: St. Mungo's is the place to heal all those odd magical injuries- including werewolf injuries. The new intern, Ella Harper, never expected to be placed in such a dangerous ward and to see her fellow Gryffindor, Remus Lupin in it as well.
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Ella tried not to gulp loudly as she neared the hospital room at the end of the corridor. The rooms here were reserved for the…more dangerous patients that needed help and as an intern, she wasn't normally allowed down here. Ella's usual instructor was out sick so she was allotted to shadow an older Healer at St. Mungo's who was a little on the senile side. He kept forgetting that Ella was just a student, not an actual Healer and so he sent her on assignments doing things she really wasn't supposed to- without her Healer's license anyway. One of them being to check up on a patient that was just checked in. Normally, it wouldn't be so bad, but he was a werewolf.

Ella had never met a werewolf before but they definitely had a bad reputation for being dangerous and deadly. She couldn't just say 'no' because she was really trying to make a good impression to get a job when she left Hogwarts.

She adjusted her white Healer robes and forged on into the room, ready to pop in to make sure he was settling into his room and then make a quick getaway for her safety. Her hand was shaking as she reached over to open the door.

Once inside, she glanced at the patient paperwork in her hand. He was really young, only being seventeen years old. He was admitted for having a particularly painful transformation that damaged him quite a bit. Ella frowned. That sounded horrible.

She raised her eyes to see him now. He was unconscious and half of his face was covered in bandages. He didn't seem all that dangerous to her. Ella's eyes skimmed the name and almost dropped all of her papers on the floor. _Remus Lupin?!_

She knew exactly who that was! He was in the year above her, also a part of Gryffindor. She had never actually talked with him but she definitely knew who he was. Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Did anyone else know of this?

Ella tried not to panic. If she wanted to be a Healer, she would have to be professional, no matter what the situation was. She steadied her breath and inched closer to his bed. Removing some of the bandages slowly, she saw that he was cut up pretty badly. Under other circumstances, she always thought of Remus to be rather good-looking- albeit peaky and slightly on the scrawny side. Here, he just looked plain old sick.

While Ella dabbed some minty smelling salve on his face, his brown eyes slowly opened and a painful groan left his lips. Ella jumped in surprise, not expecting him to have woken up already. "I'm sorry," she muttered quickly, not sure how he would react to seeing her there. Would he attack her? "I didn't mean to wake you. I was just trying to-…I can leave."

Instead of responding, he groaned and uttered out a hoarse, "Water…"

"Oh! Of course!" She reached for the pitcher of water that was on his night stand and poured him a cup. He tried to sit up to drink, but she pushed back his shoulders. "You really shouldn't…" she coaxed. "You're cut up pretty badly." She held the cup to his lips and helped him drink without spilling any down his front side. It was a lot harder than she expected but she was successful and he looked grateful.

She managed a smile which completely surprised her. When she was told on arrival that she would be tending a werewolf, she was terrified. They had such a nasty reputation; it was easy to be scared. But once she read that it was Remus Lupin, she didn't feel as frightened. Ella didn't know Remus on a personal level, but she had seen him at school and he was very well-liked by most. That must count for something, werewolf or not.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, tentatively. Ella almost felt stupid for asking that, knowing full well he must feel like death but she asked to assess just how well he was focusing and if he could even respond.

The water seemed to have helped him. He grimaced, but more at the pain and not at Ella's question. "I've been better…I can't believe I ended up at St. Mungo's this time."

Ella nodded in understanding and relief. He was going to be okay for now. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of you here. There's plenty of chocolate to give you some warmth and energy and hopefully the company will be to your liking."

Remus took this moment to fully take in his nurse. He wasn't exactly hiding the fact that he was observing her and it was making Ella slightly hot around the collar. She had no idea what he was thinking and it was making her nervous. Finally, he opened his mouth to say, "You look really young to be a healer."

Ella pursed her lips. So he hadn't recognized her from school. She decided to play along. After all, this experience wouldn't ensure them as friends when they returned to school after the summer holiday. He probably wouldn't even remember who she was. She shrugged him off with a grin, as if it were something she heard on a daily basis.

"Are you hungry, Mr. Lupin? I can bring you a little something if you think you can stomach it."

He happily agreed and she set off to the hospital cafeteria to grab him snacks. As she waited in line and began the trek back to his room, Ella still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Remus, her fellow Gryffindor housemate, was actually a werewolf. She couldn't help but think how misleading the textbooks from school were in depicting the nature of those creatures. Remus didn't fit the profile at all, she was glad to see. This new perspective would serve her well as a Healer, she could see this already.

Remus Lupin was asleep again when she entered his room. She placed his snacks near him and let him sleep. There were other patients she was able to help with while he slept and before she knew it, it was time for her to leave for the day.

Before she clocked out and hung her Healer robes up in the staff room, she stopped by Remus' room one last time to see how he was fairing. He was still sleeping, but fretfully, like he was having a nightmare. Ella frowned but there was nothing she could do.

The next day, her instructor returned and was shocked to hear that Ella had spent the day with a werewolf. Ella was scolded and was told she was unable to work in that wing again until she was a full-fledged Healer. It surprised her, how disappointed she felt because she actually wanted a chance to talk with Remus more. They never talked in school so she was extremely curious about his situation and what he was going through.

Unfortunately, she didn't see him again that summer. He was checked out a few days later and didn't come back in. After that, the rest of her internship was uneventful; mostly filling out paperwork and doing grunt work like cleaning sheets and equipment. Ella couldn't wait for the fall term at Hogwarts to begin. She did well on her O.W.L.s and now had a year break before she had to frantically begin studying for her N.E.W.T.s.

Her parents dropped her off at King's Cross Station the morning of September 1st and bid their only daughter goodbye for the semester. She was very close to her parents so it was always hard leaving her them for the school year. With quick hugs and kisses, she turned for the train and boarded, looking for her best friend, Paige Munson, so they could find a compartment together.

Ella lugged her pink trunk behind her and looked from compartment to compartment for Paige. She waved at the few people she did know and kept walking on, no luck in finding her blonde friend.

She adjusted the handle of her trunk in her hand and glanced at the closest compartment making eye contact with Remus Lupin. She jumped, completely caught off guard, but tried to recover by looking away. She looked in again to see that he was sitting with his closest friends, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. But his attention wasn't on them anymore. He was watching her with an inquisitive look on his face.

Ella knew right away that he had recognized her from St. Mungo's. But was that a good thing or a bad thing? She didn't want to stay to find out. She gripped the handle of her trunk harder and tried to make her escape. She only got a few feet ahead when she heard a voice behind her ask, "Excuse me?"

She sighed and faced him, flipping her auburn hair over her shoulder, trying to make it look like a confident gesture. "Yes?"

Remus looked much better than the last time she had seen him. He wasn't as pale but there were some visible scars on his face. He was dressed in casual clothes that seemed a bit too baggy for his small frame. His warm, brown eyes didn't leave her face however and it unnerved her.

"You look…have we met?" he asked, unsurely.

"I don't-I don't think so," she lied. "Maybe you have me confused with someone else."

His eyes widened. "You're the nurse, aren't you?" He peeked over his shoulder for eavesdroppers before saying, "The one who took care of me?"

"I uh…" She wasn't sure why she couldn't just admit it to him.

"And you go to Hogwarts?" He ran a hand through his ruffled, brown hair. "Have you told anyone? About…you know?"

Ella was going to answer 'No, of course not. I'm not stupid!' but noticed three pairs of eyes watching her curiously. They had to have been Remus' friends, wondering who the girl he was talking to was. This distracted her so instead of responding, she merely said, "Your friends are probably wondering where you are."

He didn't try to stop her when she left. It wasn't until she made it to the last cart of the train, that she finally found Paige, sitting comfortably with her boyfriend, another sixth year but in Ravenclaw. She sat quietly trying to mull over her thoughts now that Remus had spotted her.

She was broken out of it when Paige commented, "Was that Remus Lupin you were talking to out there?"


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

It was much harder to concentrate on Professor Dumbledore's beginning of term speech because of the stares. She could practically feel his eyes burning a hole in the back of her head. She turned to glance further down the table and was correct in her assumption that Remus Lupin was staring her down. Ella had to admit, it was almost comical, the situation she had found herself in. Remus had never noticed her before in the six years she had attended Hogwarts. And now because of a chance encounter during her internship, he was scornfully watching her as if she did something wrong.

"Are you going to tell me what's up with Lupin?" Paige asked. "You two have never talked before, right? And now he can't take his eyes off you."

Ella tried to shrug nonchalantly. "It's nothing. You know how I was interning at St. Mungo's this summer? He was one of the patients I was helping out. I got moved to another ward before he could thank me so I guess he's spotted me to do just that." Ella knew the thanking part might not have been necessarily true, but she wasn't about to spill Remus' werewolf secret so easily. Something like that could ruin someone's reputation, and she did not want to be responsible.

"Maybe he likes you," Paige grinned. "You, saving his life and all."

Ella rolled her eyes. "I didn't save his life." And she highly doubted he liked her. "Besides, I've been talking to Declan Banks over the summer."

"Declan? The seventh year Hufflepuff?"

"That's the one."

Before Paige could retort, Dumbledore announced that food would be served. Bountiful amounts of food appeared in front of all the students and the delicious smell quickly filled the room. It was enough to silence Paige and Ella was ready to stuff her mouth.

By the time the feast had ended, she was pleasantly full and sleepy. It had been a long day and all she wanted was to head to bed before classes started in the morning. She followed behind the other Gryffindors on their way to the common room.

She'd only expected to socialize for a bit in the common room but when she saw Remus Lupin heading in her direction, she realized her mistake in not settling into bed right away. Her heart started beating rapidly against her ribcage, as if she were caught doing something wrong.

Ella stood from her seat on the couch and met Remus halfway so he wouldn't interrogate her in front of her friends. "Is this going to be a reoccurring thing? We've never even talked before," she said.

He motioned for her to go to an isolated corner of the common room so they could speak privately. He glanced around to see if anyone was listening in again before turning to her. "You didn't answer me before. Have you told anyone…about me?"

Ella folded her arms defensively over her chest and raised her eyebrows. "Of course I haven't told anyone! I'm actually offended you would insinuate such a thing! What kind of Healer would I be if I just blabbed about my patients?"

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and Ella could see pink forming on his cheeks. "Most people would have. For fear…"

"Well, I'm not most people, now am I?" She sighed. "You don't have to worry, Remus. Your secret is safe with me." She made to leave him to join Paige, who was sending her suggestive looks, when he cleared his throat.

"Thanks," he mumbled. "What was your name? I'm sorry, I don't know it."

Ella gave a small smile. "Ella Harper. I'm a sixth year."

"Only a sixth year? Then what were you doing taking care of patients at St. Mungo's? You can't be a full-fledged Healer yet."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. I'm just an intern there. I want to be a Healer when I leave Hogwarts so I'm trying to get experience now. It helps that I did well in my O.W.L.s. My being in your ward was actually a scheduling misunderstanding."

"I asked for you the next day but they told me you were assigned to someone else," he explained. "I wanted to thank you for helping me."

Ella waved him off. "It was nothing, really. You are feeling better though, right? I'm not too familiar with the symptoms and everything. I just know what they teach in school."

"Yes, I'm fine now," he smiled. "Thanks for your concern."

The redhead's eyes wandered to behind Remus and noticed his friends were watching them talk again with mischievous smirks. She had to hold in a nervous giggle when she said, "Your friends probably think you're asking me out or something. You should get back to them so they don't get suspicious."

"I'll see you around, Ella," Remus said. He walked over to his friends who bombarded him with questions. Now, that they had confronted each other, Ella was aware of how sleepy she was and headed to bed.

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><p>After her conversation with Remus, the rest of the week went exactly as she was used to. She went to her classes, she hung out with Paige and she only saw Remus and his friends in passing on the grounds or in the common room. He didn't make any effort to talk to her anymore and neither did she.<p>

"You're not talking with Remus anymore?" Paige asked, one night later in the week. "I thought you guys were friends, you saving his life and all."

Ella rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face. "Only you would think exchanging a few words meant being soul mates. He said 'thank you' already. There's nothing else that needs to be said."

"Said about what?"

Paige and Ella looked at the owner of the voice that joined their conversation to see Ella's friend, Declan. He watched the two girls with interest before sitting down next to the redhead. He was like any other Hufflepuff; honest, kind, if not a little boring. He was tall, with blonde hair and watery blue eyes. Ella and Declan met in the library one day last year and continued talking after that.

"It was nothing," Ella waved him off. She bat her eyelashes and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "How are you doing today? Started studying for your N.E.W.T.s yet?"

"What?" Paige asked. "It's the first week of school! Why would he _already _be studying?"

Ella frowned. "I don't need to remind you how important the N.E.W.T.s are, Paige." She knew she shouldn't be lecturing her best friend, but it was hard to see Paige be so nonchalant about her future. Paige didn't know what she wanted to do just yet.

"I need at least Exceeds Expectations in Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts to be a Mediwizard," Declan responded. "I'm afraid studying is all I'll do this year. But, that's not to say I won't enjoy a trip or two to Hogsmeade."

Ella agreed with a laugh. "Everyone deserves a break."

"Right, so for the first trip of the year, would you like to go with me?"

"Of course, Declan!" Ella said excitedly. "I'd love too."

He smiled triumphantly. "That's great. I'll see you tonight after classes." He nodded a goodbye to Ella and then Paige before sitting at his respective Hufflepuff table.

Ella felt a bit giddy now. "I actually have a date." It wasn't that Ella was boy repellent, but she spent so much time studying and focusing on her career that it was sometimes too much for the other boys at her school to handle. She had a go-getter personality that could be overwhelming but Declan didn't seem to mind in the least bit. In fact, he was similar to her in that sense.

"You'll be the cutest couple at St. Mungo's. You, the Healer and him, the Mediwizard in your matching lime green robes." Paige laughed. "It's adorable."

"I've got to say, this is a pretty good start to the school year," Ella said finally. She glanced at her watch and jumped up from her seat. "We'll be late for Potions! Let's go!"


End file.
